Sunrise over Amaranthine
by TheCareBear
Summary: AU. Six months after the Blight, Lucas Cousland—the 'Grey Prince'—arrives at Vigil's Keep to assist with The Thaw. When Anora makes a surprise visit, she is greeted with a much different welcome than expected. One-shot. M!Cousland x Anora.


**I own Lucas, all else to Bioware.**

 **A/N...**

 **Hiya. More one-shots and M!Cousland x Anora love. This is all gearing up for a new saga that will be wordy to say the least. I might do some M!Cousland x Anora fluff in the future, but who knows? (Not even me. Lucas does what he wants; the bastard.)**

 **Warning: Blood, mentions of death, fighting, drinking, crying, language, and Alistair (Fuck Alistair!)**

* * *

The carriage bumps and sways along the road, tossing Anora about the cabin. The roads this far out from Denerim are poorly maintained; she would have to deal with this when she returns to court. Gripping the door, she tries her best to hold on and steady herself. Sighing softly Anora stares out the small interior window as the rain pelts it from the outside.

Lucas and she were barely married when he was whisked away from her. "Important Warden business," he had said. That man was cloaked in secrets and she wishes that he would let her in for once. Anything personal is off-limits for him. True, they were 'enemies' for the better part of year and were trained to suspicious of each other, but when he dueled her father, her 'sworn enemy' stayed his hand and spared him. Anora was shocked. She thought that her father would die at the hands of the Grey Wardens.

Lucas had the tip of his sword pointed at her father's throat. But rather than plunge it in—as that bastard Alistair demanded—he sheathed his sword, claiming that "Enough blood has been spilt in this fruitless civil war." Alistair went ballistic, demanding that her father be killed for his crimes. Anora yelled back, claiming that he did what he had to protect his country. When Alistair began to say that Anora had no right to the throne and that she should be a "good woman and serve"—a common misogynistic trait amongst the Therin men—Lucas shouted and silenced the hall.

When he was sure that he had command again, he said, "I have decided. I invoke the Right of Conscription upon you, Loghain Mac Tir. The joining will be your judge."

As Lucas turned to go, Anora called out to him. "Warden. I would like to see this 'joining'."

Lucas stopped and shook his head, turning his head to the side. "No. Warden business is secret."

Taking a step forward, Anora whimpered softly, "Please."

Turning fully around, Lucas stared into Anora's eyes. His blue-grey eyes swam in the emerald pools of hers. He stared at her, the gears turning in his head as he fought with himself to accept or deny her. Then, a strange emotion crossed his stony face; he broke contact and glanced downwards. Closing his eyes, Lucas opened them again and stretched his arm out to her, offering his hand. "Then follow, Your Majesty."

Stepping forward, Anora tentatively touched Lucas's hand, gasping softly at the contact. Even Lucas drew in a breath as he touched Anora for the first time and absently his thumb rubbed along her white knuckles. With Loghain, Alistair, the mage he called Wynne, and Anora in tow Lucas led them from the Landsmeet hall to a separate room.

Nodding to Wynne, the mage blasted the door with some kind of spell. With Anora's confused look, Lucas said "A muting spell. No one can spy on us in this room and our words will remain here. The joining is a secret for a reason, Ano—Your Majesty." Offering her a kind, yet tired smile, Lucas turned to look at Alistair. Dropping his kind look, he approached the Therin bastard and gripped him roughly by his chest piece. Alistair struggled, but stopped resisting after two punches to his face. One cracked across his nose and the other slammed into his cheek. The now bleeding Alistair was then pushed up against the wall by the cold fury of Lucas. "If you ever say anything like that to my Anora ever again, I will fucking end you, Alistair."

Tossing the crying man-child to the side, Lucas dusted himself off and turned back to Anora. "Apologies you had to see that, Your Majesty. Wynne and I will prepare the joining now." The mage Wynne looked over at Alistair, shook her head, and followed Lucas over to the far side of the room. This gave Anora time to reflect. She pulled on her bottom lip and thought about Lucas and his actions.

She agreed to marry Lucas to unite the two teynirs and stop the civil war. It was the perfect political marriage. But, Anora wasn't sure about her feelings towards Lucas. Her heart couldn't help but beat faster when Lucas had said 'my Anora'. She wasn't in love with him as of now, but she felt that she could learn to love him. His eyes just seemed to pierce hers and his voice seemed so kind and gentle. Definitely not like Cailan.

A gentle cough from Lucas brought Anora out of her reverie. Blinking, Anora looked towards Lucas who looked at her with a quirked mouth. "We are ready to begin, Your Majesty." With a nod from Anora, Lucas quickly nodded back and turned towards Loghain. "At last, we come to the joining. The Grey Wardens were founded during the First Blight when Humanity stood on the verge of extinction. So it was that the first Grey Wardens drank of Darkspawn blood and mastered their taint."

Without giving Anora or Loghain a chance to react, Lucas pressed on. "As the First Grey Wardens did before us, as I did before you, this is the source of our power and our victory. To those who survive, they become immune to the taint. We can use it to sense the Darkspawn and—during a Blight—slay the Archdemon. We say only a few words prior to the joining but these words have been said since the first. Join us brothers and sisters. Join us in the shadows where we stand vigilant. Join us as we carry the duty that cannot be forsworn. And should you perish, know that your sacrifice will not be forgotten and that one day we shall join you.

"Loghain Mac Tir, you have been called upon to submit yourself to the taint for the greater good." Lucas handed the goblet to Loghain. "From this moment forth, you are a Grey Warden." Stepping back all watched as Loghain drank deep and survived the joining. The rest was history.

Another bump along the road brings Anora out of her memory. Rubbing her forehead to stall the oncoming headache, Anora looked out the window and gasps at what she sees. Vigil's Keep, where her Lucas was, was in flames and partially destroyed. Pounding on the roof of the carriage, she orders them to go faster. The carriage peels around a corner, racing towards the Keep. The other carriages holding the Royal Guards and Templars struggle to keep up.

As the carriage pulls into the courtyard, some Royal Guards hop off the carriage and form a defensive perimeter around it. Anora tires to open the door, but a guard forces it shut just as an arrow whistles through the air. Ducking down, Anora heaves her breath, scared for her life. Slowly she raises her head to see outside the window. The Royal Guards and the Templars battle the Darkspawn that rise up out of the ground. They are twisted and horrid creatures. She now has a clearer understanding of what her Lucas and her father must deal with.

Anora ducks her head down again when one of those creatures moves closer to her carriage door. The door rattles as the genlock on the other side tries to bash its way in. Growling in frustration, the beast whacks at the door with its corrupted sword as Anora screams inside. However, the whacking suddenly stops and is replaced with the sound of gurgling. Still as a statue, Anora freezes and waits to see what happens. Lucas's face suddenly appears in the window. He is splattered with blood and grinning weakly.

Anora launches herself up, opening the door, and flying into Lucas' arms. She wraps her arms around his neck and cries into his plated shoulder. Lucas drops his weapon and shield, wrapping his strong arms around his Queen. "Shh, Anora," he whispers into her ear. "All is well. The Darkspawn are dead." Lifting up the Queen, Lucas holds her tight to his chest. "Guards," he calls, "defensive wall around me. We move into the Keep as one." The Royal Guards do as Lucas commands. They form a square around Lucas and Anora, facing outwards to defend against any other attacks. Together they move into the Keep with the Templars and Lucas's companions in tow.

Once inside, Lucas sets down Anora and kisses her forehead softly. Sniffling, the Queen pulls back and wipes her eyes, rubbing away the running makeup. "I suppose we arrived just in time to be of assistance," she says, her voice still watery.

Lucas smiles and nods his head. "Aye that you did, my Queen." Raising his gloved gauntlet, Lucas gently wipes a smear of makeup from Anoras' cheek and lets his hand rest there.

Placing her soft hand over his own, Anora leans into his touch. "What is the situation?"

"What Darkspawn remain have fled, Your Majesty," the seneschal Varel says. His mouth quirks at the expression of love between the monarchs but he is quick to hide it when Anora turns to look at him. "The Grey Wardens who had arrived from Orlais appear to be either dead or missing."

"Missing? As in taken by the Darkspawn? Do these creatures take prisoners?" Anora asks.

"Yes," Lucas responds. "But usually, it's only women." Anora's face blanches and she covers her mouth with her hand. Turning his head slightly, Lucas waves to Varel. "Leave us."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Varel says as he bows out, shutting the door behind him.

Anora buries her face in her hands and sighs softly as Lucas sits next to her. He wraps an arm around her and pulls her close to him. Lifting her face from her hands she rests her head on his chest piece which has been wiped clean. "I trust that you are well, husband? No permanent damage?"

Lucas smirks and chuckles, "It'll take more than a few Darkspawn to kill me."

Anora closes her eyes at the mention of death. "Please, Lucas," she whispers softly.

Lips brush against the top of Anoras' head. "Sorry love," Lucas mutters softly. "How are you? Not too shaken up, I hope?"

Anora shakes her head. "I'm fine." Feeling his eyes on her, Anora lifts her head to look at Lucas. "Alright, I'm not fine. I'm terrified."

"It's alright dear. I will never let the Darkspawn attack you."

"It's not that," Anora says as she stands. Turning towards him, she throws her arms out behind her. "I don't want you here. I want you to come with me back to Court and back to the Palace."

"Anora please," Lucas says as he stands. "I have to be here. The Warden's need their commander and I need to assist with the Darkspawn."

"Well sod the Wardens," Anora yells back. Huffing, she turns away and crosses her arms.

Hearing a sigh from behind her and the rustle of movement, Anora shakes her head and bites the inside of her cheek, in order to regain a hold of her emotions. When Lucas places a hand on her shoulder and another on her hip, Anora goes still, even as her mind thrashes in anger. "I am not going to be like Cailan," Lucas whispers. Anora closes her eyes at the mention of her ex-husband.

"I know how hard it is for you to trust me," Lucas continues. His warm breath tickles her cold ear. "We were enemies and this marriage is political, but I would be lying if I said that our time together hasn't meant something. I have come to care for you deeply, Anora. And I know that these are just words to you; pretty, flowery things meant to smooth over troubles. But I swear to you, I will never betray your trust in me.

"If it were up to me, I would be back in Denerim with you, cursing the Warden's all the while. And now that I know what love is, I curse them even more," Lucas says as his voice cracks with emotion. Anora opens her eyes and turns around to see the face of her Lucas struggling to keep from crying. Looking into her eyes, Lucas manages a weak smile. "The Wardens are . . . evil, but they are necessary. Their evil pales in comparison to the Darkspawn, but we sacrifice so much for the Order. It's pathetic."

Feeling empathy in her chest, Anora stands on the tips of her toes and gently kisses Lucas' teary eyes, pouring out her love into the kiss. "Lucas," she breathes.

Leaning forward until his forehead rests against hers' Lucas sighs and closes his eyes. "I'm so sorry that I have caused this pain for you. But I swear to you, that what I am doing here is important and that once I am done with this Warden business, I will come back to you."

Anora sighs and reaches for Lucas' hands. Resting her small, soft hands over his larger, calloused ones, she kisses his lips softly, lingering in place. "Please come home to me safe."

Raising his hands to cup her cheeks, Lucas returns the kiss. His lips brush against hers and he opens his heart to her, pouring out his love. "I will," he mutters. "I promise."


End file.
